Sunday, February 28, 2010

One week in

I've discovered green, leafy growth!!  The thyme is sprouting nicely (and is very crowded), and I see the starting of carrots and tomatoes!  And in only one week's time!  I expected it to take longer than that.

Yesterday I got seven new pots of varying sizes from the ReStore, just down the street.  Its a great home store that sells reusable household items (everything from used nails to claw-foot bathtubs) and donates the money to charity.  The planters are listed as a donation item, so I donated $10 (running total of $60 invested into the garden so far) and had a new project to work with!      

With my newly acquired planters, I planted another 15 or so onions today, and re-potted a very crowded snake plant into two separate (and larger) pots.  As an experiment,  I buried half a pepper in a pot, and a garlic clove that was already sprouting in another pot.  These may do nothing but take up valuable planter space, but they were both past the point of being edible, so its worth the experiment!

Another one of the planters was a shallow, but wide pot.  I plan on getting some soil and worms (thanks for the hint, Al!) and starting our compost "pile" in it.  This better happen soon, the food items we're saving are starting to look a little moldy.

I know I promised pictures (and have already taken them), but the computer isn't letting me post them yet for some reason.  I promise to get them up as soon as I can.

Til next time! 
   

Sunday, February 21, 2010

The Gardening Experiment

Here starts my gardening experiment.

A little background:

I live in a second-story apartment with a south-facing deck (~100 sq ft) and three south-facing windows with wide sills. Besides planters and planting soil, I have no access to a garden plot.

My goal:

To better understand gardening, and to move one step closer to self-sufficiency.

How I'm starting:

It's February 21, 2010, and over the past two days I've bought 7 planters, 2 cubic feet of Miracle-Gro, and planted Danvers Half-Long carrots, Heirloom Rainbow Blend tomatoes, thyme, Basil Genovese, and Walla-Walla Long Day onions from my father. Total cost so far is just under $50. I plan on buying more planters (hopefully from second-hand stores), and planting spinach, chives, and peppers.

I'm using an old ice cream bucket for storing food scraps from the kitchen with hopes of starting a compost pile. This is going to be a challenge, given the lack of outdoor space.

Sadly, I have no pictures of the project yet, but will try to post some soon. Feel free to comment with any suggestions or advice!